The 28-year-old is now awaiting the results of a B sample to confirm the devastating news. “To be clear, I have NEVER in my life purchased, researched, possessed, administered or used synthetic EPO or any other prohibited substance. It’s the same drug disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using during seven Tour de France victories. Bol’s team believe the initial test was a “marginal reading” and are now sweating on the results of a B sample. Under the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy, Sport Integrity Australia officials can test an athlete anywhere, at any time and without warning.

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• But, writes Tracey Holmes, the truth may be a little more complicated than that.
• We do this by providing simplified access to HASTA certified, batch tested with HASTA or Informed Sport certified protein, supplements and electrolytes from trusted brands, to ensure every batch we sell is tested, certified and approved.
• The survey was conducted by international anti-doping laboratory LGC on products that did not claim to undergo regular banned substance testing, and the aim was to assess the risk to athletes and the general consumer.

At Batch Tested, it’s our mission to make sure that no professional athlete should ever test positive for a drug test unnecessarily. Leading Australian sports doctor Peter Larkins says he is not aware of any form of oral EPO, meaning Bol would have to had the banned drug injected into him. Bol has been provisionally suspended but is vehemently protesting his innocence, claiming he has never “purchased, researched, possessed, administered, or used synthetic EPO or any other prohibited substance”.

Suppliers can choose to get HASTA to test only a SPECIFIC BATCH to ensure it does not contain prohibited substances. EPO is a drug secreted in the kidney which stimulates red blood cell production in the bone marrow, and is among the most common performance enhancing drugs in endurance sport. In 2013, it emerged that 20 players through 2012 had used a self-reporting loophole to avoid a strike – they admitted to possible drug use before being tested and were given counselling and nothing more. While Smith’s case does not fall under the illicit drug policy, the AFL’s approach remains contentious. While supplements are now widely available – from online retailers to supermarket shelves – not all supplements are created equal, and not all supplements can be consumed with confidence.

The illicit drug policy was revised in 2015 so that more information was given to clubs about the extent of drug use in their team. But club CEOs and football managers don’t receive the names of players who test positive. Instead, they are provided with a de-identified report of the amount of drug use at discover this their club.

Supplements in Sport – ASADA

HASTA Certification is the most comprehensive badge of approval when choosing supplements and products. The ASC extends this acknowledgment to all the Traditional Custodians of the lands and First Nations peoples throughout Australia and would like to pay respects to all Elders past and present. The ASC recognises the outstanding contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make to society and sport in Australia and celebrates the power of sport to promote reconciliation and reduce inequality.

Shayna Jack case a reminder of dangers of sports supplements

The International Olympic Committee re-tested a batch of urine samples taken at the Games and one of those belonged to team member Brenton Rickard. Athletics Australia have confirmed the 800m national record holder failed a drug test after returning a positive A sample to EPO. The AFL said a urine sample taken from Smith after the Round 23 game returned a positive test to cocaine.

Unintentional doping was first recognised as a legitimate problem in 2000, meaning just because you test positive, does not mean you are a cheat. Either Australia has a doping problem in the same way we accuse other countries of having, or we are seeing evidence of possibly innocent athletes caught in a system that threatens to destroy their reputations. China’s Sun Yang has faced accusations of being a ‘drug cheat’ by opponents and media. But, writes Tracey Holmes, the truth may be a little more complicated than that. Breaststroker Rickard did not swim in the final, but did so in the heat and the rules state if one team member tests positive, the team is disqualified.

A first strike sparks a suspended $5000 fine, counselling and target testing (where a player identified as a potential user is tested more often) but the player remains anonymous. In addition to testing sports supplements, LGC also provides doping control for animal sports and is the official anti-doping laboratory for equine sports at the 2016 Olympic Games. The use of supplements is widespread among athletes with one report finding in some sports up to 90 per cent of participants taking at least one supplement a day. News Corp is reporting that Bol tested positive in a random out-of-competition test while with his family Western Australia for Christmas. According to the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, an estimated 3.4 million (16.4 per cent) of people aged over 14 had used an illicit drug in the previous 12 months, up from 13.4 per cent in 2007.

Australians used to laugh whenever athletes from elsewhere used contamination as an excuse for not knowing how a banned substance got into the urine or blood sample. Australian sport has been rocked by the bombshell news that Olympic hero Peter Bol has tested positive to a performance-enhancing drug. The West Australian has been told the 28-year-old was tested 16 times in 2022, including his positive sample on October 11, with 14 coming back clear and the result of one yet to be returned.

The CAS will determine whether he remains so or slips into the ever-growing pool of those who failed a test to be forever branded a “drug cheat”. It is unlikely but it is completely within the rights of anti-doping officials to request your school age son or daughter to provide a urine sample next time they compete, with the requirement to strip from the waist down so the observer can see the urine exiting the body. To play organised sport in Australia, whether you are an elite athlete or an under-6 football player, when you pay your registration fee to the sport’s governing body you have just signed on to the WADA code.